Garfield Way

One of my roles in my current journey with 35mm film is that of "film detective". A few weeks or months can elapse between the time I put a roll of 35mm film into my Minolta and when the film roll is developed and returned from the lab. In that time, I may easily forget the “when" and the “how” I exposed each film frame. The where is usually apparent from the film frame itself, but the dates, times, and camera settings are forgotten.

13 February, 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7

With digital photography, the when, how and where are automatically recorded into the EXIF metadata of the digital image file. But with 35mm film, except for the information about the film stock, I have no recorded information about aperture, shutter speed or exposure compensation. A few years ago, I tried a few apps to record each frame's aperture or shutter speed, but I quickly grew tired of doing it. Most of the time, I forgot to record the settings.

13 February, 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7

To compensate, I go on a digital adventure, scrolling through my Adobe Lightroom Catalogue, searching for photographs that I might have made around the same time using my Fuji X-T3 or iPhone 11 Pro.

I’m not sure when these four New Classic EZ 400 film frames were exposed. I think I put the roll of 35mm film into the camera sometime around the beginning of January. I searched Google for a list of snow dates in 2022 and found references to 1 January, 2 January, 3 January, 6 January, 7 January, 16 January, 17 January, 28 January, and 29 January. In the photographs, the roads and sidewalk are ploughed, so these film frames were probably exposed a day or two after one or more of those dates.

13 February, 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7
13 February, 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2
13 February, 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2
13 February, 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7

Cousins Maine Lobster Truck

During the summer of 2020, I dined on clam chowder and lobster roll every other week.

Many summers ago, a former employer offered something they Called summer hours. Staff could work an extra hour each day from Monday to Thursday and leave work early on Fridays. I took advantage of this to have lunch with my kids. Summer hours coincided with the summer lunch at specials at One 53 in Rocky Hill. They offered a beer and lobster roll. My kids loved it because they were allowed to order anything from the menu. If they didn’t like what they ordered, they could order something else.

I “discovered” the Cousins Maine Lobster truck a few years ago. One 53 no longer offered lobster rolls on the menu. I was on a hunt for any place local serving lobster rolls. My Google search led me to Cousins Maine Lobster truck. The truck moves between a few towns, including Pennington, Hillsborough, Lawrenceville, and Somerset. If I ordered via the app, my food would be ready by the twenty-minute drive to any of those locations.

This frame from a roll of Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400 was taken (Minolta XD-11 and MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2) during the one time that the Cousins Maine Lobster truck visited Flounder Brewing. I hope they return for the summer.

Duke Farms

In late January, I decided to get out to Duke Farms for some photography. It’s been a few years since my last visit. I needed to get outside. I tossed my Fuji X-T3 and Minolta XD-11 into my peak design camera bag and grabbed my tripod. there is a roll of Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400 in the XD-11 and I wanted to expose a few frames.

It was cold. When I stepped out of the car. I was sure I would be ok. I stopped at the waterfall near the north entrance. The water was frozen. I continued toward the abandoned 1917 Conservatory. I managed to expose just a few more frames before the biting cold became unbearable. My fingers felt number.

I called it quits and turned to walk back to the car.

Duke Farms
Duke Farms | February 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 | Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400
February 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 | Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400
February 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 | Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400
February 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 | Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400
February 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 | Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400